Death penalty suspended in Belarus

Belarus is the last country in Europe that maintains the death penalty.  Good news is rare so when it happens it is to be welcomed.   News broke yesterday that the Supreme Court of Belarus, in an unprecedented move, has decided to suspend and review the death sentences of Ihar Hershankou and Siamion Berazhnoy while their appeals are under consideration. Marie Struthers, Director of Amnesty’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, said:

This is a hugely significant and unprecedented decision for the only country in the region that has continued to execute people all these years.  We are not aware of other cases where the Supreme Court of Belarus has suspended an execution.  We continue to monitor the case closely, but it gives us hope that after years of discussion on the death penalty Belarus is ready to ‘walk the talk’ and has urged the authorities to establish an immediate moratorium on executions and to commute all death sentences as a first step towards abolition

Amnesty’s report on Belarus